Bob, the problem here is the we (regulars to this list) wrap ourselves in what
we want to hear, For example left leaning articles and TV (i.e. Meadow).
Although I hope I am wrong, I sometimes wonder if we are the ones living in the
cocoon of our own dreams. I am on a few mainstream message boards and I hear
nothing but right wing ideal ology. So who is the vocal minority us or them?
Frank
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bob Hachey
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2017 11:02 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] On the Fight Against Trump
Hi Frank,
I have encountered numerous sources including the article pasted below my name
that leads me to believe that protests and calls to members of Congress are not
trailing off as you indicated the other day. And, its not just in blue states.
Many red state Republicans are feeling the same kind of heat that democrats
felt from the tea party back at the beginning of the Obama Administration. This
is so even in deep red states like Utah.
Rachel Madow indicated similar evidence in her Thursday night show. Also,
thanks to Madow, democratic leadership has finally decided to actually help
Georgia Democrats in their efforts to take Tom price's seat. Good for Rachel
for doing her job as a member of the press. But she said that the wimpy
leadership of the party was very upset at her report on how they didn't seem to
care about that race. IMHO, only after her report did Democratic leaders decide
to take this race seriously. That tells me that Democratic leaders have not
learned the lessons of the 2016 election. IT's time for the old guard of the
Democratic Party to step aside and let younger folks and others newer to the
party such as Bernie sanders take over the reigns of control. If I were
Sanders, I'd give Democrats the following ultimatum. Either you idiots grow a
pair or I'm leaving to form a more energetic third party.
Bob Hachey
For love of country, not money Renée Graham Renée Graham . By Renée Graham
Globe Columnist . How would one go about hiring protesters that Republicans
insist are getting paid to do what, in fact, they are eagerly doing for free?
Perhaps there's an app where you can order them up like a combination platter:
a few dozen middle-aged guys to say, "I'm a Republican, but . . . "; a bunch of
millennials who now realize there is a difference between the two major
political parties; a dollop of citizens who finally understand that Obamacare
and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing; a sprinkling of the intense
silent types who can glare for hours; and a heaping side order of those who
relentlessly spew like volcanoes at the political object of their disaffection.
Do you find them on Craigslist? (Nah, I already checked.) At your local big-box
hardware store? Could they be actors waiting tables while dreaming of their big
chance to emote "Dump Trump"? Certain that their management of the country is
going well, President Trump and some GOP members are trying to convince anyone
who'll listen that all those people with their signs, chants, and bottomless
indignation are being paid to stir up dissension and opposition. This is an
"alternative fact" or, as those of us grounded in reality would call it: a lie.
Not surprisingly, Trump, who loves taking credit for things that have
absolutely nothing to do with him, doesn't want anything to do with this one.
Yet it's his historically dysfunctional, ruinous presidency that's compelling
people in the streets and online. Last week, when voters lambasted
Representative Jason Chaffetz during a town hall in his Utah district, he told
reporters that the boisterous crowd was "more of a paid attempt to bully and
intimidate" him and was not indicative of his constituents' true feelings.
Chaffetz refuses to believe voters could be upset that he, chairman of the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, spent months hounding
Hillary Clinton about her private e-mail server but can't muster the same
fervor in going after Trump's conflicts of interest. So far, Chaffetz seems
more willing to go after underlings than the president himself. He claims he
sought "guidance" from the Office of Government Ethics on what to do about
senior counselor Kellyanne Conway hawking Ivanka Trump products on TV. The OGE
is now recommending that Conway be disciplined by the White House. Yet hours
after Michael Flynn resigned as the president's National Security Adviser,
Chaffetz was asked whether there should be further investigation into Flynn's
knotty Russian connections. His reply: "It's taking care of itself. In other
words, "Nothing to see here, folks, let's all just move along, OK? (Several GOP
senators aren't as convinced, and are pushing for a probe into connections
between Trump and Russia.) This is why Trump and his minions work so hard to
undermine agitators, even within his own party. Like the "fake news" charge
leveled against any journalist or news organization that exposes Trump's lies,
"paid protesters" is just another pejorative term meant to delegitimize
opposition. When Stephen Miller, Trump's White House policy advisor, eerily
warned Sunday that the "powers of the president . . . are very substantial and
will not be questioned," it was like chum for the protesters circling this
unsettling administration. Protesters will not be deterred by presidential
insults or attempts to sow mistrust and confusion among them. They will
continue to contest every challenge to their civil rights and liberties, and to
the Constitution. Unlike Trump, the millions protesting against him aren't
motivated by money. They're driven by an often difficult, but fierce love for
this country, and will guard it against all enemies, even the one inhabiting
the White House. And that devotion to protecting the well-being of this nation,
a cause bigger than any individual, is something this president will never
experience or understand. Renée Graham can be reached at
renee.graham@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:renee.graham@xxxxxxxxx>. Follow her on Twitter
@reneeygraham
